SAN ANTONIO — Kids are already out for the summer and many families have already hit the water. That means a lot of exposed skin to the sun, and sunscreen becomes a must. There are so many different types and strengths of sunscreen on the market, creams, sprays, different SPFs. So how do you know what kind you are supposed to be using?
"When you're applying for the first time, it is important probably to choose a cream because you can actually control how much of that goes onto your skin versus a spray," said Dr. Jimena Cervantes who is a skin clinic doctor within University Health. She says SPF 30 sunscreen is the target. Dr. Cervantes told us, "30 is the minimum that has been shown to to be efficient in protecting our skin against the sun."
Going higher than 30 will protect you more but more important is reapplying. Dr. Cervantes added, "When you're outdoors, you know, you're swimming your you know, you're going to be sweating. Important thing is to kind of rinse off and reapply every every 2 hours.
Here are some popular sunscreen myths. First, people don't think they need sunscreen because they are not outside. Dr. Cervantes told us, "Unless you're living in like a bunker with no UVA exposure at all, no windows, nothing like that, you need sunscreen. Even the small little moments that you're going from your car to the grocery store, from your car to work, those accumulate over a lifetime."
Myth number two is, you don't have to wear sunscreen on cloudy days or in the winter. Dr. Cervantes said, "Even on a cloudy, rainy day winter, every day the U.V. rays penetrate through those clouds."
Finally, people with darker skin do not need to use sunscreen. Dr. Cervantes responded, "I think that is a common misconception that we don't need to protect our skin as much because we're not more susceptible to burning. But tanning, you know, you get a little bit darker when you're out in the sun. That is burning. So that is affecting your your skin in the long term."
"r. Cervantes also says don't neglect the neck, and hands because those are high risk areas that are the most sun exposed.
If you would like to see more of our Wear The Gown stories just head to WearTheGown.com.